Syracuse football team could see longtime rival West Virginia on the schedule again down the road

Syracuse football coach Doug Marrone is congratulated by chancellor Nancy Cantor after the Orange defeated West Virginia 38-14 Saturday in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Looking on is SU athletics director Daryl Gross.Frank Ordoñez / The Post-Standard

New York -- The Syracuse football team met West Virginia for the 60th time Saturday in a series that began in 1945 with a 12-0 Syracuse victory. SU defeated the Mountaineers 38-14 to take a 33-27 lead overall. With the Orange headed to the ACC next season and West Virginia now in the Big 12, the only way the teams will meet again is in a bowl game or in a non-conference game. SU athletic director Daryl Gross said he and his WVU counterpart, Oliver Luck, have discussed such a meeting.

“I think (the ACC) give us a great opportunity to meet new rivals but at the same time keep old ones,” Gross said, “so we look forward to playing West Virginia in the future.”

How far into the future, though, remains unclear.

“I think what’s going to be interesting for all the Division I schools is the new playoff system and how important strength of schedule is,” Luck said. “I think that needs to play out for a couple years before long-term commitments are made, but certainly if we’re looking to improve our strength of schedule, playing Syracuse would be a good way to do that, so it certainly is a possibility.”